Visions

August 20, 2008

I’ll tell you why nerds like me want you to give science fiction a chance. It’s true that we are obsessed with seeing epic battles comprised of spaceships, laser guns and lightsabers. It’s true that we geek out when we see what technological marvels we may have in the future. It’s true for some of us that we drool when we see women wearing body-hugging spacesuits. Yes, we like all those very much, but they’re not enough reasons for us to endure as fans of sci-fi. We endure because of sci-fi’s visions. You see, many sci fis create worlds that, while having their own rules, maintain semblances to our real world. Within such premises, then, sci fis challenge us to think of how our world may become like their worlds. They then ask us if we can do something to either ensure or prevent such thing from happening; and should we have to live in a world like theirs, they guide us on how we can survive.

In short, sci fis compel us to examine our culture’s pros and cons.

Let me use Wall-E as an example. If you look at the trailer and you believe that it’s a tale of a lonely robot trying to find the meaning of its existence in an abandoned earth, you’re only half-right. True, those kind of stories can be moving, and they can make Wall-E a very pleasing movie. And I’ll say it now: Wall-E is a crowd-pleaser because of its special effects and its choreography – they are attributes that all Pixar movies share.

But when you sit down and think about what happens in the movie – and like I said, the titular robot’s solitary living is only half the movie’s story – you will realize just how breathtakingly intelligent it is. That is so, because Wall-E is a Cliffs Notes of the greatest sci fi stories, in that it tackles all their weighty topics. It cautions us not to become too hedonistic lest we create a negative utopia (as can be read in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World). It warns us not to watch too much tv lest we become too detached from reality (that would be from Ray Bradbudy’s Fahrenheit 451). It urges us not to become too dependent on technology lest we become a bunch of lazy and unthinking individuals (see Jack Williamson’s With Folded Hands). It reminds us not to be too reliant on robots because they can be stubborn and they may harm us when we change our minds (as made known in Arthur C Clarke’s 2001 Space Odyssey). It urges us to preserve our environment, or else we may have to desert our planet. Finally, it advices us to maintain our loving and compassionate ways, because these qualities are what really bring the good in us, and that as long as we have them our world can be saved.

That Wall-E encompasses this many subject matter makes it a movie that everyone – children and adults alike – must see. We, sci fi fans, couldn’t be happier in knowing that the things we read about are coming through in a movie as respectable as this.


Posted by nightdreamer at 1:22 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

Damn. Everybody’s saying that Wall-E is awesome. I seriously have to watch it.

Posted by Ade at August 21, 2008, 3:45 pm

The word “awesome” gets bloody tossed around a lot, and people seem to latch that word on every Hollywood fun-romp type of films - such as Iron Man and Pirates of the Caribbean (both I agree with).

But for me, awesome is not enough a word to describe what an achievement Wall-E is. As a fun romp, the movie’s choreography will keep you at the edge of your seat, but it just becomes more magnificent because of its powerful and resonating messages.

It will become the milestone by which all upcoming animated movies will have to surpass - I’ve a hard time imagining how Pixar will be able to make a movie even better than this one.

I can easily call Wall-E the best movie of 2008 - yes, better than The Dark Knight, as much as I love The Dark Knight. I haven’t loved an animated/cartoon movie this much since Grave of the Fireflies, and Iron Giant.

So, should you watch it? Yes, and much better if you can watch it with someone you love. :)

Posted by nightdreamer at August 21, 2008, 4:06 pm

Couldn’t help seeing Johnny Five (from the movie Short Circuit) in Wall-E. They are sooo similar. Made me a bit nostalgic.

Yep, it was a Pixar movie through and through… and I say Pixar with an awe deserved it, like Google. Good thing it has remained independent of Disney in terms of not messing it up. Disney on the other hand, hasn’t the capacity to go beyond mainstream dollar earning, cerebrally empty trilogies.

LOL, Captcha is “salad”, sounds like EVE at work. :P

Posted by Pity at August 21, 2008, 4:49 pm

What’s an example of Disney’s dollar earning, cerebrally empty trilogies? Pirates of the Caribbean?

Posted by nightdreamer at August 21, 2008, 5:07 pm

They mar their classics like Aladdin, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Cinderella with very, very subpar direct to video sequels.

In movies, Pirates of the Caribbean can count as one. I only liked the second movie. Also, Santa Clause and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

I dunno if I’ll count the upcoming High School Musical 3. I still haven’t watched Part 2.

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